Tanzanian ISPs move closer to establishing an Internet exchange

[Brian Longwe <brian at pch.net>]

By Harry Hare
From http://www.aitecafrica.com
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Independent research has shown that African Internet Service Providers
(ISPs) loose over US$400 million every year paying for the peering of
local traffic in international exchanges and international bandwidth
providers. This was said by Brian Longwe, General Manager of AfrISPA, a
membership organization of African ISPs, when conducting a joint technical
workshop and a CEO briefing for Tanzania.s ISPs in Dar es Salaam.

The workshop, organized by the Tanzania ISP Association (TISPA) and
managed by AITEC Tanzania over 23-25 April, was meant to sensitise the
Tanzanian ISP community on the benefits and technology behind Internet
Exchange Points (IXPs). An IXP interconnects ISPs in a region or country,
allowing them to exchange domestic Internet traffic locally without having
to send that data across multiple international hops to reach its
destination.

Twenty-two network engineers and administrators from nine ISPs attended
the two-day technical training, while 20 CEOs and senior ISP managers
attend the CEO briefing on 25 April. The technical training hosted at the
University Computing Centre covered both theory and practical exercises on
network management and interconnectivity at a local Internet exchange
level.

Addressing the participants, Suhail Sheriff, the Vice-Chairman of TISPA,
said Tanzania is yet to be part of the Internet and that Tanzanian ISPs
are merely subscribers to international companies offering Internet
services. .Fortunately, a group of ISPs have come together to from an
association that will precisely address such issues and work to further
the spirit of the Internet in Tanzania,. Sheriff said.

.TISPA has embarked on setting up the Tanzania Internet Exchange (TIX),
the basis of which is simple . to keep local information local. The
exchange will connect ISPs and information destined for each other will be
routed more directly through the TIX,. Sheriff continued. By exchanging
local traffic locally, ISPs are expected to reduce the significant network
latency due to the multiple satellite hops and, therefore, improve the
quality of service and reduce costs. The exchange will also .encourage
more Tanzanian ownership of the Internet, increased productivity based on
the use of the Internet and create a more efficient medium of getting and
sharing useful information with fellow Tanzanians and the wider audience,.
he continued.

Currently ISPs have to send all outbound traffic through their
international links, most commonly satellite and occasionally submarine
fibre. Meaning an e-mail sent from one customer in office 102 belonging to
ISP A to his colleague in office 103 but with ISP B, is routed through
satellite hops and via at least two gateways and several exchange points
before reaching its destination, less than 20 metres from origin.

The ISPs that participated in the Technical Training include Cats-Net,
Raha.com, Africa Online, Media Post, University Computing Centre, COSTECH,
Afam . Habari (Arusha), Datel and SimbaNet. Stanley Mining and Tanzania
Airports Authority also were represented. In addition to these companies,
representatives from the Tanzania Communication Commission, Ministry of
Communication and Transport, the Civil Service Department, InterAfrica and
Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited attended the CEO briefing. The
workshop was supported by the UK Department for International Development
(DfID) and the International Institute for Communication Development
(IICD).

For more information on AfrISPA, see www.afrispa.org




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